Alpine / West Menlo Little League has served the families of Menlo Park, Woodside, and Portola Valley for more than a half-century. Our mission is to be an outstanding community organization that creates a culture where kids of all abilities love playing

During all play between any two teams of Alpine-West Menlo Little League, the teams shall faithfully observe all Regulations and Playing Rules of Little League Baseball as contained in The Official Rulebook unless superseded by the Alpine-West Menlo Little League local rules which follow. During inter-league games, play shall be governed by National Rules; however, Alpine-West Menlo Little League teams will also follow our local rules, unless National Rules prohibit compliance. In All Star competition, Alpine teams will observe the National Rules concerning All Star play.

Participation and Conduct

• Minimum Playing Time - Supercedes IV(i):

• Every player in attendance at a game must play a minimum of three defensive (3) full innings. All players in attendance will bat each time through the lineup (batting the lineup). The manager or coach shall inform the Player Agent of any player who fails to play a minimum of 3 (three) innings for any reason. Such notification shall be made prior to the next scheduled game for that team.

• Any player who does not play a full three (3) innings for a game that is shortened for any reason must be in the starting lineup in the next scheduled game and play any previous requirement not completed and the requirement for this game before being removed.

• Exceptions: A player may not be required to play three (3) full innings in the following cases: Injury or illness; Disciplinary reasons. Should either occur, the Player Agent (or Division Commissioner in divisions where there is no Player Agent) must be notified immediately.

• Penalty: Any manager/coach who violates this rule (even unintentionally) may be suspended from the league for up to seven (7) consecutive days. If this penalty is assessed during the last seven (7) days of the season, it is possible that his penalty will be assessed in a subsequent season.

Player, Coach and Manager Conduct:

• Please familiarize yourself with rules 4.06, 4.07, 4.08, 9.01 and 9.03(4) in the Official Little League Rule Book.

Penalties to be determined by the Board of Directors

Reporting of Injuries:

• The manager of any player who is injured during a game or practice and required medical attention, or is removed from playing, or misses one or more games must submit an injury report to the Player Agent (or Commissioner if there is no Player Agent) before the next scheduled game.

• Any player requiring medical attention for an injury whether or not related to baseball or obtained in connection with Little League, must submit written permission from a physician to the Player Agent before returning to play.

Forfeits:

A. Unable to Field a Team

• For a game where a team is unable to field at least (9) nine eligible players, that game shall be recorded as a forfeit and not played. Borrowing players from the opponent is not allowed.

• To avoid forfeits, a player pool will be created and maintained

by the division’s player agent. This pool can be made up of

current division players and age-eligible lower division

players who are willing to fill in as players for teams that are

short players. Pool players will be subject to the (3) three

inning minimum playing time rule and shall not be permitted

to pitch.

• A Manager may request pool players for a game when he/she

has reason to believe that he/she will be down to 9 or fewer

regular rostered players. The maximum number of pool

players allowed per team/game is 2.

• The player agent will be the only point of contact with a

prospective pool player.

• Pool players will wear their own team’s regular uniform.

B. Consequences of a Forfeit:

• The forfeited game will count as a loss.

In the event both teams are unable to field nine players, both

teams will be charged a loss.

Game Day

• Field Prep

• The home team sets up the field to be ready for the warm-ups.

• The visiting team cleans up and puts away the equipment afterwards including powering down the scoreboard and stowing the scoreboard controller where applicable.

• The Home team will occupy the third base dugout

• Pregame Timing

• 45 Minutes Before 1st Pitch

• teams share the use of the batting cage

• teams share the use of the outfield grass

• every attempt should be made to split the allotted time equally between the teams

• 25 Minutes Before 1st pitch

• Home team takes infield practice

• Visiting team uses batting cage

• Visiting team uses outfield margins (along the lines)

• 15 Minutes Before 1st Pitch

• Visiting team takes infield practice

• Home team uses batting cage

• Home team uses outfield margins (along the lines)

• 5 Minutes before 1st pitch: home plate meeting between coaches and umpires

• The goal is to make sure the visiting team has a proper warm-up time and is not dependent upon the home team in order to do so. Any time lost due to the infield not being prepared eats into the home team time.

Pitch Counts

• The team identified as the “visitor” will be in charge of designating a volunteer as the official “pitch counter” for the game

• The volunteer will run the scoreboard (or a written record) and ensure that the correct pitch count is displayed.

• The volunteer has the final word on pitch counts and both teams must abide by the count displayed on the scoreboard/written record.

• Adults on the Field

• While warming up in the bullpen, no adult, even a coach, is permitted to serve as the safety or backup for the session.

Please appoint an unused player for this purpose.

• In addition, no adult may warm up a pitcher for any reason, either in the bullpen or between innings behind the plate

• 10 run rule - Alpine/West Menlo Little League does not utilize the 10 run “slaughter” rule in league games.

• Players During Warm Up

• Any player at home plate during warm ups while a coach is hitting must have a catching helmet on during this time.

• This is for the safety of the player and not open to interpretation.

• Recording Scores and Pitch Counts

• Each team is responsible for entering scores and pitch counts within 24 hours of the end of the game to the League website.

Strike Zone

Playoff roster requirements

12-player roster required, 11-player minimum per game

Starting with our playoffs, we will enforce the 12-player roster. That means each team MUST HAVE 12-players healthy and available for the full playoff schedule. If you do not meet that, please let us know immediately so we can assign a AAA player to round out your team.

To allow for one-off, last-minute conflicts or sickness, each team must have at least 11 players participate in each game. Any players short of 11 in your batting order and an out will be assigned each time that spot comes up to bat. To clarify, if you only have 9 players, each batting cycle, your team will automatically have 2 outs for the 10th and 11th spot in the order.

EXCEPTION: The 12-player rule is designed to insure competitive balance throughout the tournament. As such, there is an exception for teams who lose the players picked with their first- or second-round draft picks from the Part A draft, or their first-round pick from the Part B draft, due to injury. If any of those players are unable to play due to injury, the team in question does not need to replace them on the roster for the playoffs. If a team loses one such player due to injury, they must field an 11-player team or be assigned outs each time through the order as noted above. If a team loses two such players due to injury, then they must field a 10-player team or be assigned outs each time through the order for each player less than 10. There is no exception for players not picked in the top 2 rounds of the A draft or the first round of the B draft. If a team loses any other player due to injury then that player must be replaced, either permanently or on a game-by-game basis, by a AAA substitute.

Additionally, we are clarifying "Late Shows" and "Early Departures". The roster must be set at the start of the game, and the same roster must also complete the game, If a player is not present at FIRST PITCH, they cannot play. Specifically, if you have a 12-man roster but one player leaves early, the spot in the order will record an out if the player is not present to bat. This does not apply to any injuries. In case of an injury, that spot in the order is skipped with no out recorded.

City Championship Game Day

The home City sets up the field to be ready for the warm-ups and cleans up and puts away the equipment afterwards including powering down the scoreboard and stowing the scoreboard controller where applicable.